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INTEGRATED LIFE CHOICES Residential Manager. Contact Karisa Roberts at kroberts@integratedlifechoices. com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.
GAMES WORKSHOP Retail Store Manager. Contact Jeremy Foglesong at retailcareers@Gwplc.com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.
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OMAHA STEAKS Direct Sales Professionals (Part-Time Evenings, Fulltime Days & Evenings). Contact Wylene Woodard at wylene@omahasteaks.com. Go to OmahaJobs.com for more information.
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JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
| THE READER |
omaha jobs
Noon, January 10 – Noon, January 11 (24 hours) UNMC Ice Rink – 42nd and Emile Visit unmc.edu/skateathon for more information and to register.
P
Hours: Sunday 1pm-5pm Closed on Monday Tuesday & Wednesday 10am-7pm Thursday & Friday 10am-6pm Saturday 10am-5pm Prices: Quick Pedicure: Pedicure: Manicure: Gel Manicure:
$32 $45 $25 $32
roprietors Jennifer Fulcher and Jessica Chizek offer some much needed advice to today’s women of Omaha: “Take time for yourself and just chill.” That’s a tip these ladies mean literally. Jennifer and Jessica opened the new pedicure and manicure spa “Chill Body” in February of 2013 in Omaha’s Rockbrook Village. The idea is to provide women an escape from their busy lives in a beautiful environment that promotes relaxation and rejuvenation and leaves you feeling like royalty. A place to kick off your shoes and get a peaceful pedicure and magical manicure amidst the cool blue hues and lavender scents of this fabulous oasis located in the middle of the city. Tucked in the southwest corner of Rockbrook, Chill Body offers bright teal walls, flowing white curtains, soft glowing candles and the soothing sounds of reggae music. With the phrase “the coolest spa in town,” this spa holds up to it’s chill name and cool ambience. Owners Jennifer and Jessica know a little something about busy women. Both were pursuing their master’s degrees while working extensively in politics and fundraising when they agreed to try a new business venture together. “If you have a stressful work life or daily schedule or you just need some chill time, we want to provide that unique getaway, that relaxing experience,” Jessica says. “It is important to us that you leave here happy and feeling good, with pretty nails and feet.” With a small staff of eight nail techs, the Chill Body team adds to the relaxing and personal experience. Uniqueness is a characteristic of the Chill Body experience. Chill Body uses the celebrity designer Deborah Lippmann nail polish and product line. The soft glowing, sweet smelling candles are used as massage oil in the pedicures. The products are available for purchase so you can maintain your soft skin and beautiful nails between visits. Jennifer says Chill Body isn’t just for “me time” though. In fact, she encourages everyone to bring friends and family and enjoy the experience together. Chill Body hosts bridal parties, birthdays, etc. And it’s not just for the ladies. “We get lots of men wanting pedicures and manicures, too,” Jennifer says. Appointments and walk-ins are welcome. Make sure to stop in and see for yourself what the hype of a good chill is all about. Check out chillbody.com for prices, hours and more information. — Mara Wilson
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heartlandhealing N E W A G E H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S B Y M I C H A E L B R AU N S T E I N
Turn Out the Lights, or the Party’s Over
L
ists are popular this time of year. Let’s persist. One thing prompted consideration of the types of pollution we endure as we traipse through our ecosystem. Even deniers claiming that climate change isn’t anthropogenic still endorse the scatological maxim: “Don’t shit where you eat.” Polluting is just that and we’ve been overachieving in the past hundred years or so. Here’s a list worth changing in 2014. Some may surprise you.
VISIONS FROM FIVE MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE • JANUARY 9, 2013 • Tomorrow's youth will stumble onto an entirely unexpected trend: polka. The music will gain new popularity, starting online with a massive open-source project to collect and digitize polka albums. Participants will quickly move on to listening to polka bands and
learning to polka dance, and a new form of polka will emerge that blends the old accordion and brass with modern digital instruments. Tomorrow's children will spend their weekends happily spinning the dance floor in triple-step time.
The Obvious: Air, Water, Land, Chemical Biggest air pollution offenders are coal-fired power plants, farting cows (seriously, the livestock sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases), transportation, agriculture. Tilling topsoil to grow corn for inefficient ethanol production causes more pollution than it saves and spraying toxins on crops sends it into the air, too. Nebraska has a high level of some of the most dangerous types of air pollution due to unpaved roads and agriculture. One surprising source: Health officials have found dangerous spikes between July 3 and 5 each year. Why? Fireworks. Do not overlook the form of air pollution you can control the most: indoor. The air inside your home is likely more polluted than outdoors and you can affect that most easily. It is safe to say that, aside from polar archaeological reserves, there is not one source of water on the planet that isn’t polluted by man or his activities. You may not have heard, however, of the giant Pacific Ocean Gyre, a patch of garbage floating in the Pacific that is so dense with trash in some places that you can virtually walk on it. Its size is estimated at 5.8 million square miles, twice the size of the entire United States. We throw crap out into nature or just bury it. Problem is, we’re running out of land. And I cringe each time I watch a Husker game and see thousands of red latex balloons released. They get eaten by wild birds and animals, killing thousands yearly. Nice. Several states outlaw helium balloon releases because of that. Not Nebraska. Besides, what part of littering is that not? Humans have used or made fifty million unique chemicals, most of those just since WW II. The worst part: They’re everywhere. Everywhere. And we have virtually no idea what they do to us. Over 90 percent of them are never tested for safety but still we use them. Beyond air, water, land and chemical pollution, there are other, obscure types of pollution at least as pervasive and perhaps more dangerous.
Radiation — Breaking News: What aren’t they telling us? United States Health and Human Services quietly ordered delivery of 14 million doses of potassium iodide by February 1, 2014. True. Radioactive emissions are increasing and potassium iodide (KI) blocks absorption of some radiation. It is currently the only thing that can be done for victims of a nuclear plant disaster. Japan’s Fukushima plant continues to spew radiation reaching the United States. Other sources of radiation pollution are all around us, too. Medical equipment, electronic devices, smoke detectors and toys give us their doses. Noise You may not notice it but noise is all around you and impacts your health. Most comes from machinery in manufacturing and the transportation sector. All forms of life are affected. Perhaps the most insidious: the sonic pollution from military experiments wracking the planet. The US Navy and others admit to killing hundreds of sentient whales and dolphins by indiscriminate use of high-powered sound waves. Military communications blast powerful signals through the crust of the earth with no regard for known and unknown consequences. EMF The forced adoption of bizarre lighting solutions, including compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), will boost electromagnetic frequency (EMF) pollution in 2014. Cell phones, TVs, cars, computers — almost everything electronic — emit powerful electronic pollution that causes disease. Light Lawmakers have banned incandescent bulbs in 2014 because they are deemed wasteful. Yet energy is wasted all night, every night, by bulbs burning in huge, empty office buildings. The City of Lights did something about it. In 2013, Paris outlawed such waste. Why can’t we? TD Ameritrade and your new, “green” office building? What’s “green” about a building that won’t turn out the damn lights? And the security card is bunk. Studies have found that undirected light sources are ineffective. Aside from wasting energy, indiscriminate use of night lighting harms human health and interferes with nature to an extreme extent. GMOs The genie is out of the bottle. Rogue genetically modified organisms have polluted nature. Information Pollution Modern humans are obsessed with “knowing”, information being the fastest growing industry on earth. Ask google or the NSA. But we don’t need to know everything. The Tree of Knowledge didn’t yield a good outcome for Adam and Eve. Thought is the ultimate creative force. There are no neutral thoughts. Monitoring thoughts and their inherent message, negative or positive, is essential. Forget, “You are what you eat.” Actually, “You are what you think.” Or as Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” Be well. ,
HEARTLAND HEALING is a New Age polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods
of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. It is not an endorsement of any particular therapy, either by the writer or The Reader. Visit HeartlandHealing.com for more information.
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heartland healing
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ou’ll want to make sure you bring some cash for a tip when you visit Tripointe Coffeehouse in downtown Papillion. First you’ll want to drop some cash into the barista’s tip jar, because everyone who works at this particular coffeehouse is paid volunteers. You’ll also want to add some money to the “love tank,” which is box for donations to buy a cup of coffee for customers who can’t afford to buy it themselves. Then you’ll want to drop some money into one of the three jars intended for donations to Revolution 61, a non-profit organization fighting human trafficking. You have to choose which jar to drop your money into wisely though, because the jar with the most money at the end of December dictates what kind of facial hair barista Chris will have to sport for a month and a half: handlebar mustache, full facial hair, or my personal favorite, mutton chops. This is no ordinary coffeehouse. This is a place where outdoor workers get free hot drinks on the coldest days of winter and people are invited to enjoy the AC in the hottest days of summer even if they don’t buy anything. It’s a place where impromptu counseling sessions are common and the clientele is as varied as the wide variety of drinks available. This is a place to come hang out, get into a deep discussion, and drink a lot of good coffee. It all started when Tripointe Baptist Church decided it was time to move from their location at 84th and F streets. “A couple years ago around the end of 2011 we got the feeling it was time to move,” says Chris Evenson, pastor/barista. When the real estate agent showed him the building (which used to be the Times Publishing office), Chris envisioned an outreach opportunity for the church. “At the time I was thinking that I’d put a sign outside the building that said ‘Free coffee and prayer – come in and we’ll talk.’”
n BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE So warm yourself up by celebrating National Hot Toddy Day Saturday, Jan. 11. Known for warming the spirit, the Hot Toddy is easy to make for the at-home bartender because it consists of only four ingredients: whiskey, hot water, sugar and bitters. Cheers. n SPEND YOUR SUNDAYS AT FLEMING’S STEAKHOUSE Running through Feb. 2, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, 140 Regency Park-
way, is offering a Sunday night three-course Prime Rib special for $29.95. Start with a choice of salad followed by Prime Rib au jus with creamy horseradish sauce and your choice of side. n GEEKS ON HOLD The much-anticipated Android Factory, 2408 S. 120th St, has fallen upon some bad news. Omaha’s soon-to-be bar for nerds and geeks is holding off their opening until March due to zoning issues according to their facebook page. Geeks say boo. We will keep you updated on future opening info.
Things got complicated when Tripointe took their plans for a church in the downtown area to the city officials. “After we had signed our lease we found out this area wasn’t zoned exactly for that type of assembly, so we were like, ‘Now what?’ God put it on my heart to say, ‘Well, what if we do a coffee business?’” A sit-down with the mayor and administrator yielded good results. “We looked at a bunch of scenarios and found that this plan worked. It didn’t violate any laws or ordinances,” says Chris. “So that’s what birthed the coffee house. The city works really hard to help businesses come in.” Not everyone who enters Tripointe Coffeehouse realizes that it’s run by a church. Art from local artists is prominently displayed throughout the room, pastries from Siedlik Bakery are available, and Beansmith coffee is served. The typical coffeehouse fare is available here; whether you want a simple cup of coffee or a flavored latte complete with whipped cream and syrup drizzle, you can get it here. The baristas are all friendly folks who you might never guess aren’t earning a paycheck for their time. When I say the baristas are friendly, I don’t mean they’re the typical “I-just-drank-anespresso-so-if-I-don’t-keep-moving-my-headwill-explode” friendly that you’ll find at some coffeehouses. They learn your name and they remember what drink you like. If you want to chat they’ll chat, and if you want to just sit and tap away at your laptop, they’ll give you your drink and leave you alone. “Every single person here, including me, is all volunteer,” says Chris. “I wish we could pay them, at least a little bit. But maybe that will come. We’re just trying to pray about what God wants us to do.” The role of barista has been an interesting one for Chris to take on, and it was one that he didn’t necessarily think he would ever have. Initially, he was only supposed to fill in as a barista
as needed when the coffeehouse first started, but once it became obvious that there was no room in the operational budget for paid baristas, he stepped in and learned quickly. Now he balances his coffeehouse duties with his pastoral duties. “It’s a kind of give and take,” he says. “I’m still trying to figure out how that needs to balance out. I’m starting to learn how to balance that and use that for God. I used to have a traditional church. I used to be able to just get up and go for any church needs; if someone was in the hospital or needed help moving, I could be there. But on the other hand, I have so much opportunity to speak into people’s lives here.” “I had a guy come and visit our church for a while, and he told me I need to pray about figuring out what I can do with this ministry,” says Chris, gesturing around at the coffeehouse. “He said stop trying to do traditional ministry. Now I’m starting to think maybe he was right.” “What we’d love to see is that this is ‘Bible and Prayer Central’ where there are people doing Bible studies and praying for each other all the time. That would be cool. How to do it, I don’t know.” Chris pauses in thought and adds, “I don’t know what next year holds, but it’s pretty interesting. All the time you’re wondering, ‘Did I hear God right?’ And little by little you hear, ‘Yep.’” As I leave, Chris hands me a flyer. On the one side is an announcement for an upcoming music night at the coffeehouse, and on the other side is scribbled, “Pray for a Miracle on 84th Street.” For the folks who have found friendly conversation here when they needed it most, it may be safe to say that the miracle has already happened. , Tripointe Coffeehouse, 138 North Washington (84th) Street in Papillion,www.tripointecoffeehouse. com, Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.,Saturday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Closed Sunday and Monday
n KEEP US ABREAST To our restaurant friends, local foodies and nosy neighbors, if you have friendly news on restaurant or bar openings or closings, menu changes, drink specials, upcoming events that our readers shouldn’t miss or any other obscure information related to the food scene in Omaha, please forward to crumbs@thereader.com. If you do have anything to share, we thank you in advance. Happy eating. — Krista O’Malley Crumbs is about indulging in food and celebrating its many forms. Send information about area food and drink businesses to crumbs@thereader.com.
dish
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D
reamers from Nebraska, as from everywhere else, have flocked to Hollywood since the motion picture industry’s start. Softening the harsh realities of making it in Tinsel Town’s dog-eat-dog world, where who you know is often more vital than what you know, is the mission behind the Nebraska Coast Connection. This networking alliance of natives already established in Hollywood or aspiring to be is the brainchild of Todd Nelson, a Holdrege son who’s been in Hollywood since 1984. A former Disney executive, his company Braska Films produces international promos for CBS. Early in his foray on the coast Nelson was aided by industry veterans and once settled himself he felt an obligation to give back. His own Hollywood dream extends back to childhood. He made an animated film with his father, created neighborhood theatricals and headlined a magic act, ala home state heroes Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett, that netted a recurring spot on a local TV show and gigs around the state. “I guess I didn’t know any better and nobody ever told me I couldn’t do it, so I just kept at it,” Nelson says. As a University of Nebraska-Lincoln theater and broadcast journalism major he made the thenSheldon Film Theatre (now the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center) his film school. “To see classic movies and to meet the filmmakers behind some of them was just a fantastic experience and a real eye opener for me.” Frustrated by limited filmmaking ops at UNL, he talked his way into using Nebraska Educational Television production facilities to direct a one-act play for the small screen. He also worked as a KETV reporter-photojournalist in the ABC affiliate’s Lincoln bureau. He was an extra in Terms of Endearment during the feature’s Lincoln shoot. An internship brought Nelson out to the coast, where he worked behind-the-scenes on a soap and later served as personal assistant to TV-film director Paul Bogart (“All in the Family”). After five years as a senior project executive at Disney he left to produce and direct the documentary Surviving Friendly Fire. Nelson formed NCC in 1992. A couple years later he befriended fellow Nebraskan Alexander Payne, then gearing up to make his first feature, Citizen Ruth. Payne was looking for an L.A. apartment and Nelson leased him a unit in the building he managed and lived in. The neighbors became friends and the Nebraskans in Hollywood community Nelson cultivated grew. “He’s a terrific guy,” Payne says of Nelson “He is, as they say, good people.” In 1995 Nelson inaugurated NCC’s signature Hollywood Salon series. He knew he was onto something when the first event drew hundreds. His strong UNL ties brought support from the school’s foundation. The monthly Salon has met at some iconic locations, including the Hollywood Athletic Club and CBS sound stages. Its home these days is the
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historic Culver Hotel in Culver City, Calif., whose namesake, Nebraskan Harry Culver, attracted the fledgling movie industry to his city in the 1920s. In this ultimate company town, the hotel is next to Sony Pictures Studios, giving the salon the feel of an insider’s’ confab. Payne’s guest appearances draw overflow crowds. Some 200 attended the Sept. 9 program Nelson hosted. The acclaimed writer-director shared offthe-record dope on the making of his Nebraska, candid comments about the state of movies today and advice for actors and writers hoping to collaborate with him. He took questions from the adoring audience, many of whom he’s gotten to know from past salons, posed for pictures and made small talk. In addition to Payne, the salon’s featured other Nebraskans: actress Marg Helgenberger (CSI), writer-producer Jon Bokenkamp (The Blacklist), filmmaker Nik Fackler and actor Chris Klein (Election). Nelson and two-time Oscar-winner Payne remain close. They did the Cannes Film Festival together in May for Nebraska’s world premiere. Nelson arranged with Paramount, for a Nov. 11 on-the-lot screening at the Sherry Lansing Theatre for an invited NCC and Californians for Nebraska audience. After the screening Nelson led Payne in a Q&A. The group boasts a mailing list of more than 1,000 and nearly as many anecdotes from those
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who’ve found fellowship, employment, even love, through its ranks. Payne likes that NCC affords a kind of Neb. fraternity in Hollywood. “It’s wonderful and hilarious. It’s hilarious in the way that being from Neb. is hilarious. Maybe people from other states do the same, but I know the Neb. version of how they seek one another out in other cities. I know there’s a Neb. club of some sort in New York City. The state’s members of Congress host a Nebraskans breakfast in D.C. “Nebraskans feel comfortable with one another outside of Neb. and I am no exception, I enjoy the group, we have a shared sensibility, a shared sense of humor, shared childhood references. And Todd is a forceful personality. He’s the most benevolent, charismatic cult leader one could imagine,” he says with a wink. According to Nelson, “There is something really unique about Nebraskans. We belong together in this way that no other place does. I have watched other groups come and go trying to duplicate what we do and every group without fail has just fallen apart, and some of them are from the Midwest, so it’s not just the Midwest thing.” Payne’s far past needing the NCC’s connections but he says, “I’m very happy to continue my participation as an occasional guest speaker.” Bokenkamp does the same. The Kearney native parked cars when he first got out there. He did have
a script but no idea how to get it to anyone that mattered. At Nelson’s urging Bokenkamp entered a screenwriting contest. He won. It got him an agent and eventually jobs writing features (Taking Lives) and even directing a pic (Bad Seed). Nelson enjoys aiding folks get their starts in the business. “There’s definitely a thrill watching new people realize their own potential,” he says. “Jamie Ball from Grand Island wanted to be an editor. I’ve given her a chance and she’s working in the big leagues now as a video editor, making a substantial living and finding she really enjoys living her dream. I love being a part of making that happen. “But I also get the benefit of her good work and it’s enabled me to get home to see my son more often and to take a sick day once in a while. It’s a huge help to have her on my team.” Against all odds small population Neb’s produced an inordinate number of success stories in film and television, including several legends. The star actors alone run the gamut from Harold Lloyd and Fred Astaire to Robert Taylor, Henry Fonda and Dorothy McGuire to Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift to James Coburn, Sandy Dennis, Nick Nolte and Marg Helgenberger. At least one major studio mogul, Darryl Zanuck, originally hailed from here. As have leading composers. cinematographers, editors, writers and casting directors. y continued on page 8
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braskans and he pulled it off. It has been a wonderPayne heads the current crop, but he’s hardly ful spin and he really is the father of it all.” But what really compelled Nelson to form NCC alone. Most homegrown talents are not household names but they occupy vital posts in every facet of was the stark reality that even though hundreds of the biz. For each hopeful who makes it, such as pro- Nebraskans worked in Hollywood, few knew each ducer-writer Timothy Schlattmann (Dexter) from other and there was no formal apparatus to link Nebraska City, many others give up. Having a sanc- them. “I’d been working in Hollywood already 10 tuary of Nebraskans to turn to smooths the way. Nelson credits former UNL theater professor years and meeting a lot of Nebraskans and nobody seemed to know each other. We needed to have acBill Morgan with sparking the concept for NCC. “He was the one who really put the idea of a Neb. cess to each other.” Thus, the Nebraska Coast Connection was born. connection in my brain. I would always visit with “People teasingly called it the Nebraska Mafia, him when back home for Christmas and he would pull out a stack of holiday cards from all his old stu- but it was kind of like that – we could take care of each other.” dents. I’d say to him that I don’t know so-and-so, they were before or after my time. He would write down their contact info and nudge me to get in touch with them. He just thought we all should know each other. And inevitably when I did follow up, they would always welcome me into their lives because we shared Dr. Morgan... even if it was from a different era. That was the seed of the NCC right there.” Among those UNL grads Nelson looked up was the late Barney Oldfield, a Tecumseh native who was a newspaper reporter and press aide to Allied commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II before becoming a Warner Bros. publicist and independent press agent to such stars as Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor. In his post-Hollywood years he worked in corporate public relations and became a major philanthropist. “Barney was an amazing guy. He became a big supporter of the Coast Connection,” Nelson says. “We hosted his 90th birthday party at CBS on the ALEXANDER PAYNE big stage. He regaled us with stories of his old PR days and Variety managing editor Kirsten Wilder, yet anknowing everybody under the sun.” Another of the old guard Nelson called on was other Neb. native in Hollywood, has a warm feeling Guide Rock native Lew Hunter, a former network for the group and marvels at its founder’s persisTV executive and script writer whose 434 Screen- tence. “The NCC is near and dear to my heart. The reawriting class at UCLA became the basis for a popular book he authored. Hunter, who today leads a son the NCC is so successful is because of Todd Nelscreenwriting colony in Superior, Neb., offered a son’s staggering devotion to keep the group alive and thriving.” model for what became the salon. Nelson defers credit to the natural conviviality “He used to do what he called a Writer’s Block when he still lived in Burbank,” Nelson says. “It of Nebraskans. “You get these people that come out here from was a kind of salon. He’s seen that our salon conNeb. and it doesn’t matter where they’re from in tinues that, so he’s a big supporter.” Hunter says, “Todd and I often thought and the state, it doesn’t matter that they don’t have a spoke about a similar monthly gathering of Ne- direct contact with someone else, the fact that you y continued from page 6
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are from Neb. is an instant welcome. It’s not entirely universal. I met Nick Nolte at the Golden Globes one year and I told him about our group and I said we’d love to have him come and talk to us sometime and he said, ‘Why would I want to hangout with a bunch of Nebraskans? I got away from that place.’ That’s a rarity, once in a while you run into it, but most of the time we find that everybody just connects instantly.” Nelson says that in what can be a cold, rootless town NCC provides “a safe haven” that comes with the shared identity and experience of being among other Nebraskans . “We call it Home Sweet Home in Hollywood and it has that quality to it. You need a home base SLAMDANCE FESTIVAL FOUNDER DAN MIRVISH & LEW HUNTER SALON 2007
I think if you’re going to do this kind of hard work of always having to put yourself out there and come up against the sharks of the world. I don’t think growing up in Neb. especially prepares you for how hard it will be to actually make it while you ply your trade and build your career. Hollywood just isn’t very nurturing. You can really use a community out here to help you get your bearings and give you a leg up. Or at least some friendly faces to be yourself with as you make your way.” Bokenkamp admires what Nelson and the group provide. “His love for Neb. runs deep, and he’s found a way to channel that love into a really positive networking group with the Nebraska Coast Connection. NCC is a warm, energetic and creative environment. Todd just wants to see people succeed. “Thing is, in a land as strange as Hollywood, it’s just nice to have a place to go now and then that feels like home. NCC is that for a lot of Nebraskans.” Payne says he can appreciate how NCC makes negotiating Hollywood less lonely and frightening for newcomers. “L.A. is such a scary place to approach when you’re young and want a career in film or television. Everyone is telling you you can’t make it, perhaps you’re even telling yourself that, but you’ve giving it a try anyway. Add to that the fact you’re from Neb. and have no connections. Well, it turns out there is an organization that welcomes you and has people
in exactly the same boat there to commiserate with. It’s a wonderful, caring organization.” Nelson says without the NCC it’s easy for some to give up their dream. “I’ve seen many people go back home after a few years of waiting for their break and not getting very far. Pressure from parents and friends is part of it. People in Neb. don’t really get how long and hard these careers can be to get started. There’s no distinct ladder to climb, no road map, lots of horror stories and kids here can run out of money or run out of steam. That’s when a ‘safe’ job back home near the folks looks more and more attractive. “I’ve had many parents tell me they wouldn’t let their kid try it in Hollywood without the safety net we give them.” Nelson says NCC offers a way to make foot-in-the-door contacts that parlay a kind of pay-it-forward, Neb.-centric nepotism. “I know the NCC works because I see it over and over. People are constantly making job contacts, finding support, getting roommates, attending each other’s performances, hiring actors and crew for their films. It is going on all the time at every Salon. Hopefully it will happen even more with the interactivity built into the new website. Our goal is to have a kind of virtual salon to help everyone stay in touch with each other in between salons. “Even after some folks reach some level of success they come back often and say it gives them a friendly home base.” Real jobs result from NCC hook-ups. “As a producer who has hired or recommended over a dozen people to work at CBS-TV over the years, including a young Jon Bokenkamp, I know this group to be a huge resource of great talent. I don’t ever need to go elsewhere to find the best people,” Nelson says. Nelson’s quick to point out he’s not alone in his home state loyalty. “Jeopardy executive producer Harry Friedman is from Omaha and he is famous for hiring Nebraskans on his shows. Many others out here from Neb. recommend Nebraskans first. Why wouldn’t they? It always makes sense to hire people you know, or know where they came from, and Nebraskans are almost universally loved for their work ethic, responsibility under pressure and humble ‘get it done’ spirit.” Nelson says he’s pleased the NCC, which rated a fall L.A. Times feature article, has made it this far. “I don’t think if you told me 21 years ago that we’d still be going this strong I would have believed it. In fact, it’s kind of moving into some new levels. For example, with the Nebraska screening at continued on page 10 y
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| THE READER |
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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do it. There is a certain confidence, I don’t think y continued from page 8 Paramount I was able to reach out to all these folks you can make it in this town without that confiwho’ve been salon guests and they were very ex- dence. But there’s so much more to it than that. In so many ways it’s about, Do they have something cited about it.” Besides Nelson and Payne, attendees at the to give? There’s a lot of people that come out here screening included Bokenkamp, Chris Klein, actor and they think, Well, what can I get out of this? AlNicholas D’Agosto and actress turned-mystery au- most without exception the ones who make it are the ones who want to give back. thor Harley Jane Kozak. “I’ll back these people a hundred percent and Celebrating success stories like these is part of the deal. But Nelson says the heart of the NCC “will help them on their way because that’s what you do always be a group focused first on the kid that’s here, that’s what it’s about.” The reciprocity continues. Nelson and Payne atbeen out here for a week, that drove out in his dad’s car full of stuff, is staying on somebody’s couch tended the dedication of Bokenkamp’s restored and has 500 bucks to his GEORGE FOREMAN WITH TODD NELSON AT BARNEY OLDFIELD name. I mean, that’s really TRIBUTE IN HOLLYWOOD what we’re here to do and that’s going on every month at the salon – somebody showing up for the first time who’s in that circumstance. That’s the way it works.” Greg Hadwick showed up like that out of Lincoln, recalls Nelson. “I think he drove all night to make it to the salon.” No sooner did Hadwick arrive then he learned Nelson and his then-very pregnant wife were due to move that weekWorld Theatre in his hometown of Kearney. Nelson end and he volunteered to help. “He was just a trooper,” says Nelson. “He rented says, “It was a great celebration of Jon’s good work.” a truck and stayed late. He was such an incredibly Bokenkamp returned the favor speaking at the Octohard worker. He didn’t ask for any money and he ber salon. The home state contingent turned out in wouldn’t take any. The next salon I told the group force for the Paramount Nebraska screening. And so what he did and somebody who was looking for an it goes with the Coast Connection. “There’s never been a time when it’s felt like a assistant hired Greg based on my recommendation, and that kid has gone on to work his butt off in Hol- one-way street,” says Nelson. “It always comes lywood, He just showed up, open, ready to jump in. back.” , He’s now started his own production company and brought guys out here from his hometown in Neb., Follow the Coast Connection on Facebook or at http:// hollywoodsalon.org. Photo credits: TIM WOODso he’s kind of doing his own giving back.” Nelson says he can usually spot who has what it WARD, TRAVIS BECK, TODD NELSON, DAVID takes. “I’ve seen a lot of those kids who try to make WILDER. Leo Adam Biga is the author of Alexander it for awhile who don’t stick. Then there’s the ones Payne: His Journey in Film. Read more of his work at that right away I know, Oh, yeah, they’re going to leoadambiga.wordpress.com. JULIE FITZGERALD, KIM WALKER, RYAN BERGMAN
REGISTER TO ATTEND Go to sxsw.com/attend now to take advantage of current registration discounts and to get your hotel. Next discount deadline January 10, 2014. MUSIC GEAR EXPO March 13–15, 2014 Learn more at sxsw.com/trade-shows/gear ADVERTISE | MARKET | EXHIBIT sxsw.com/marketing EXPERIENCE MORE Visit us at: youtube.com/sxsw Brought to you by:
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JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
| THE READER |
cover story
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T H E R E A D E R ’ S E N T E RTA I N M E N T P I C K S J A N . 9 - 15 , 2 01 3
TOPTV Sunday, 8 p.m. (HBO)
Matthew McConaughey turned in a performance for the ages in Dallas Buyers Club, and damned if he doesn’t turn in another one in “True Detective.” He plays Rust Cohle, a one-of-a-kind Louisiana detective investigating a murder with occult overtones. We watch Rust and his partner, Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson), track the killer in 1995, and also testify about it in 2012, when a similar case crops up. But don’t get the idea that “True Detective” is a standard police procedural. Every hour in the eight-episode series plumbs the depths of the human heart. Martin is an outgoing family man, Rust a cynical loner, and the actors explore the very specific tensions in their relationship. Harrelson gives one of the best performances I’ve seen all season, but even he can’t top McConaughey. Granted, Rust is the juicier part: an odd, erudite, haunted macho man, inclined to philosophize about man’s folly. Rust discourses about time, death and God, doubtful about the meaning of life. Martin pushes back on his pessimism every step of the way: “For a guy who sees no point in existence, you sure fret about it an awful lot.” I could say the same thing about “True Detective.” This is existential fretting of the highest order. — Dean Robbins
SUNDAY12
Jan. 11
Jan. 12
The Hideout, 320 S. 72nd St. 9 p.m. Tickets are $7
Shark Club, 2808 S. 72nd St., 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15/ADV www.brownpapertickets.com
ARTICULATE, DJ CMB, CONCHANCE, KETHRO AND ARTILLERY FUNK
DAYS
“True Detective”
SATURDAY11
ARSON CITY
FRIDAY10 Jan. 10
ARSON CITY W/ THE END IN RED, DIRTFEDD & THROUGH THE STONE Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., 9 p.m. Tickets $12 www.onepercentproductions.com
Omaha’s hip-hop scene has always been small, but thanks to the return of local emcee Articulate (real name Nick Clawson), there’s one more person trying to help it grow. Articulate was heavily active in the local music scene until he left the country to pursue other interests. After traveling for a while, getting married and having a son, he’s back on the grind with best friend DJ CMB. On Saturday, January 11, the motley duo joins fellow local artists Conchance, Kethro and Artillery Funk. According to the event’s Facebook page, “Articulate will be handing out free stem cell treatments to the first 5,092 at the door and DJ CMB will be delivering various citronella candles to all foreignborn grandparents.” Articulate appears equally as enthusiastic. “It’s gonna be mad fun, I haven’t felt so carefree and light about music in a while,” he assures. “We have a good set put together.” — Kyle Eustice
SHOOT YOUR MOUTH OFF FEATURING ANDREA GIBSON
Jim Morrison founded the Shoot Your Mouth Off series in 2004 when he discovered a lack of open mic events in the area. Heralded as “Omaha’s most dynamic, diverse, and talented group of performers,” the series features musicians, poets, spoken word artists, and comedians. On January 12, Shoot Your Mouth Off is proud to host world renowned spoken word artist Andrea Gibson. Gibson’s work has been read on BBC, C-Span, and in the Utah State Legislature. She is an activist and spokesperson for the LGBT community, but she appeals to a full spectrum of people. Based in Boulder, Colorado by way of Calais, Maine, Gibson is on her fifth full-length album, Flower Boy, and her second book, The Madness Vase. Gibson’s poems serve as a call to action and have no problem stirring up the emotion in all of us. — Kyle Eustice
ANDREA GIBSON
After vocalist Patrick Wilson left Emphatic, he was at a crossroads. He could either put down the microphone forever and settle into family life with his newborn son or forge ahead and find a way to balance it all. For local hard rock/metal fans, Wilson’s decision the right one. He joined Arson City along with guitarist/programmer Mark Beckenhauer, guitarist Eric Whitney, bassist Matt Oliver, and drummer Matt Denker. “Arson City is a ‘themed’ band about its ‘citizens,’” Wilson explains. “We are free to be as creative as we want in writing the songs/stories. In the fictional world of Arson City, there are about a million citizens. Each one of them is unique and each has a different story.” While Arson City has collectively decided not to release any full length records, they are going to try to put out three EPs a year, which will contain three to four songs on each one. Catch them burning down the house Monday at The Waiting Room. — Kyle Eustice
picks
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n While the cold weather has taken a turn for the worse, The BLUEBARN’s Witching Hour is hard at work trying to get better. At least, that’s the title behind their latest project, How to be Better. The show will be based on the cartoons of the 1930s, the self-obsession of modern-day culture and the different ways in which people interact with one another. The end result will be a black and white cartoon performed live on stage. Inspiration for the show came from the endless amounts of old-timey cartoons and silent films that can now be found on YouTube. Betty Boop, Disney’s Steamboat Willie, and the classic Georges Melies film A Trip to the Moon are a just a few of the iconic works that the late-night theatre troupe are taking ideas from. How to be Better will open in late February. n Nebraska Shakespeare is gearing up for an eventful month making preparations for this summer’s Shakespeare on the Green Festival. While King John was initially slated to be a part of this year’s festival, extenuating circumstances led to a change in offerings and now The Compleat Work
Reverend Horton Heat with Nekromantics & Deke Dickerson, January 15, at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St., 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Visit www.onepercentproductions.com for more information.
P
eople practically worship Jim Heath. Better know by his stage name, Reverend Horton Heat, the Texas native helped usher in a whole new genre of music in the mid-’80s, which is often referred to as “psychobilly.” However, upon further exploration, it’s a term Heath isn’t exactly comfortable with, but has grown to accept over time. “I have to explain my music quite a bit because where I live not a lot of people are up to speed on Reverend Horton Heat,” Heath says from a tour bus in Cheyenne, Wyoming. “I say we’re a rock-n-roll band that is especially influenced by ’50s-style music, especially rockabilly. That kind of gets the fact in there that maybe we’ll have a little surf guitar in there or maybe country or a little blues, or maybe even punk rock. Now we’re so fast and up-tempo that many people think
of William Shakespeare (Abridged) will take its place in Elmwood Park. Vincent Carlson-Brown will direct an expanded cast while Rob Urbinati will direct the ever-popular The Tempest. Local auditions will be held Jan. 25 and 26 and actors looking to audition should contact whouston@nebraskashakespeare.com Nebraska Shakespeare’s most recent tour of Twelfth Night will be featured in the upcoming NET program Nebraska Stories. The show will highlight the company’s touring wing that helps make Shakespeare more accessible to schoolchildren.Nebraska Stories will premiere January 12th at 9pm. n Also coming up is the Omaha Community Playhouse production of Having Our Say, opening Jan. 17, starring sisters Camille Metoyer Moten and Lanette Metoyer Moore. Look for a more in depth preview of the show in the future. —Bill Grennan Cold Cream looks at theater in the metro area. Email information to mixedmedia@thereader.com
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JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
| THE READER |
we’re just a punk rock band. The kids are moshing. That’s all I know.” Before he was known as the “Reverend,” Heath was playing in high school cover bands in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. He had grown up surrounded by music all his life and really fell in love with good ol’ fashioned rock-n-roll. “I remember trying to play Johnny Cash when I was like 10-years-old,” he says. “I was exposed to stuff like CCR, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins really young, but I just kept gravitating towards heavy rock-n-roll. In the midst of all that, I discovered the blues. When I started listening to blues around 12 or 13-years-old, I started playing music, practicing a lot and being interested in being in bands.” After moving to Austin in 1977 to attend the University of Texas, Heath was captivated by the punk music scene. He
culture
left in the spring to pursue a career in music. At one point, while visiting home, he ran into his old college roommate David Livingston who took him to see The Cramps in Dallas. That night, Heath said he had “an epiphany.” “My epiphany was that since The Cramps were a punk band using rockabilly, I could be rockabilly using punk,” he explains. “I realized that the still somewhat new punk movement harkened back to the real rock-n-roll of the ‘50s and early-’60s.” Rather than go after the “rock-n-roll lifestyle,” he did the opposite. Heath had recently become a young father and he decided he needed to have a “real job.” By 1985, he was known as the “Jim the Sound Guy.” This didn’t last long. Soon after, the Reverend Horton Heat was born. Almost thirty years later, a lot has changed, but all for the better. “We’re more successful now so we can take a bus, which makes it a lot more comfortable,” he explains. “Back in the van days, it was very, very difficult. We would do crazy stuff. We’d do a show, finish the show at 3 a.m. and head out driving. At some point, we might stop at a hotel and rest for a little bit then we’d get up and start driving to the next gig. All that driving in the van was hard on us physically. For me, it’s way easier now.” Recently signed to Victory Records to release his 11th studio album, Heath has jumped around a lot during the course of his career. Initially signed to Sub Pop in 1990, he’s had stints with Interscope, Yep Roc, Time Bomb, and Artemis. At the time, Sub Pop made the most sense. “It was a really good move for us,” he says. “When we signed with them, it was the real beginning of the grunge thing so when they were talking to us about signing us, Nirvana was still playing the same venues we were. At that point in time, it all made sense. In all honesty, I’m not a person that really that goes, ‘I want to go be on a label with that band.’ What are you going to do? Go hang out with them? Have Thanksgiving with them just because we’re on the same label? It really makes no sense. My thing is that I just need a really good machine that’s there that will promote my music. Other bands on the label, hmm, no. What am I going to do? Go call Kurt Cobain and say, ‘hey dude, we’re label mates?’ I don’t really understand what all that is.” Heath is grateful for his new home at Victory. His first Victory release, Rev, drops January 24, 2014. “I do think we’re something different for Victory and that’s good,” he says. “It’s a really well oiled machine and to have them promoting us is a good thing.” Victory is lucky to have Reverend Horton Heat. His work ethic is one of the fiercest in the business. He doesn’t necessarily believe in “natural talent.” “I’m not a big believer in doing anything ‘naturally,’” he says. “You have to have a work ethic, you have to have a hunger to do that; a hunger to learn to get better is way more important than having a talent to begin with. The sad thing about that is it causes a lot of people to not want to learn how to write or play guitar or piano so they go, ‘well I just don’t have an ear for music.’ I don’t think they understand. It’s not really bad; it’s just that you gotta practice.
“It’s not like you just sit down and start playing guitar because for one thing, your fingers are going to bleed,” he adds. “You have to build up your calluses. Muscle memory is a big part of it and it’s a repetitive thing. That’s the key to it. The other side of that coin, you get these people that might say, ‘well I just have a god-given talent so I got the talent, you didn’t so get me a Coke right now. I’m thirsty.’ You know, whatever. That’s how you get the Whitney Houston syndrome going on right there.” While Heath has never been the type to go “diva” on anyone, he knows what he’s contributed to the music world and it’s a place he’s happy to stay. “This is basically all I do,” he says. “I’ve been doing the music thing prior to doing Reverend Horton Heat for a long time. If I feel like if I can keep getting better then I’ll keep going. I love doing it. It’s a dream career. I try to remember that this is what I wanted and this is what I’m doing so don’t take it for granted.” For Heath, the endless traveling sometimes gets monotonous, but he knows it’s integral to not only his livelihood, but to his entire team’s livelihood. “When I go on stage and play music, it’s the greatest thing ever,” he says. “We did a private party last week for about 50 people and we got paid very well. It was super fun just to get up there and play. It’s what I do. To make that happen, I have to do a lot of stuff that I don’t like doing, which is traveling every day. We do about 100 shows each year. Doing my laundry in some ghetto laundry mat, stuff like that isn’t fun. “The one thing is though we gotta make money,” he continues. “We’ve got a great tour manager, great lightning guy and these guys have been working for me for so long they’re my best friends. And they need money to work. The simple fact of the matter is I go out there, we play music and I make money. If I were to just stop, I’m successful enough where I could probably say I’m going to stop for a year, but what would they do? It’s humbling. Then after that year break, I would probably not be able to get them back. They’d be off doing something different. For me to keep this thing going artistically, I have to make sure we play a lot of gigs. But like I said, I still love doing it. That’s my art form so I’m willing to put up with all that other stuff.” For now, if Heath has a chance to kick back and listen to Merle Haggard, the new Deke Dickerson record, Les Paul, and Dale Watson, he’s content. He’s heavily into classic country, but has an appreciation for a handful of contemporary artists, as well. “One thing that I do like that is going on right now is this resurgence of soul music, which I think is really cool,” he says. “I like more raw stuff. Alabama Shakes are pretty neat. The Black Keys are pretty neat. I like it and I think it’s healthy. All in all, they are playing good solid riffs as opposed to just sampling stuff.” As Heath approaches another new year with Reverend Horton Heat, he’ll likely play over 100 live shows, relentlessly promote his new album and keep the legend of the “Rev” alive. What he wants is simple. “I hope and wish that what I’ve been able to do will be accessible to younger people coming up in the future,” he says. “This is a dream come true.” ,
overtheedge
COLUMN BY TIM MCMAHAN
VINYL SALES HELP HOMER’S BUCK INDUSTRY TREND
A
fter spending the last two weeks writing about the current state and predicted future of the music industry, it’s time for a dose of reality in the form of the 2013 Nielsen SoundScan numbers. Billboard Magazine reported last week that album sales suffered an 8.4 percent decline in 2013, CD sales declined 14.5 percent, even digital music sales declined last year for the first time since the iTunes store swung wide its online doors in 2001. Digital track sales fell 5.7 percent, while digital album sales fell 0.1 percent, all according to SoundScan. The Billboard story said industry executives concede that “ad-supported and paid subscription services were indeed cannibalizing digital sales.” Call it the Spotify effect. Those same execs went on to say growth in streaming revenue offset the decline in digital sales. But what about brick-and-mortar? That’s where Mike Fratt comes in. Fratt is the general manager and buyer at independent record store Homer’s Music, 1210 Howard St. In the face of all the doom and gloom, Fratt said 2013 was a good year for Homer’s. “Sales were up 10 percent, vinyl was again a big driver, up 40 percent for the year,” Fratt said. “DVDs, gift, accessory and lifestyle sales were also up.” It’s a trend that began in 2010. But it wasn’t all good news for Homer’s. Fratt said CDs saw their first sales decline at his store since 2009, slipping 3 percent. So is it time to go all-in with vinyl? Not so fast. According to SoundScan, vinyl sales indeed rose from 4.55 million in 2012 to 6 million last year, but that’s only enough to make vinyl 2 percent of all U.S. album sales. CDs are still king of the mountain commanding a whopping 57.2 percent of the market, while digital albums sales comprised 40.6 percent. Still, Fratt says Homer’s business plan is to continue to focus on vinyl and lifestyle/gift items. “We embarked on a project to replace all our vinyl browsers in 2013 to increase space efficiency and improve merchandising of 7-inch singles,” Fratt said. In addition, Homers will continue to broaden its CD selection. “We have been adding new distributors that stock imports, budget and rarities,” Fratt said. “Despite potential declining sales (in CDs), customers will still expect a large selection.” Fratt said streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora actually have driven his sales numbers. Customers often come into his store asking to buy an album that’s streaming on their phone. He said overall, consumers’ buying habits are shifting. “As mall music stores have disappeared and mass merchants (Target, Walmart, Best Buy) reduce selection to below 1,000 different titles, music buyers are forced online to buy CDs,” he said. “This has also helped the indies.”
Film Streams at the Ruth Sokolof Theater 14th & Mike Fahey Street (formerly Webster Street) More info & showtimes 402.933.0259 · filmstreams.org Facebook & Twitter: @filmstreams
Billboard reported that indie merchants as a whole saw a nearly 12 percent decline in album sales last year. Fratt said that number was wrong, and closer to a 5 percent decline. “Right now, SoundScan only pulls sales data from about 60 indies nationwide and attempts to determine total national sales for indies,” he said. “Record Store Day website lists 1,000 stores in the U.S.” Fratt thinks vinyl sales were probably closer to 10 million last year. We won’t know the real numbers until a new media company begins tracking physical and digital sales this year. I told Fratt I noticed another shift in consumer buying. More and more, record buyers are following a model similar to comic book collectors -- they’re buying vinyl and limited edition hard product based on collect-ability (and maybe investment).
First-Run Films Inside Llewyn Davis First-Run (R) Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen. Starts Friday, January 10! Follows a self-destructive folk singer as he navigates the pre-Dylan Greenwich Village scene. Music by T Bone Burnett & Marcus Mumford. Nebraska First-Run (R) Dirs. Alexander Payne. Through Thursday, January 9!
Last chance!
Nominated for 5 Golden Globes, including Best Director and Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)!
A Touch of Sin First-Run Dir. Jia Zhangke. Starts Friday, January 16! Weaves four true stories from China’s recent past into a violent commentary on life in the world’s fastest growing economy.
Members Select Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 (PG) Dirs. Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam. Through Thursday, January 9!
Last chance!
I speak from personal experience, as both a record and comic book collector. There is certain vinyl I collect just because I want to own it -Factory Records stuff, early copies of Smiths albums with unique cover art, for example. These are albums I probably will only listen to once, but will display in my house or just want to have. If I want to listen to the actual music, I listen to a digital version. The amazingly successful Record Store Day in some ways supports my idea -- it’s a great way for collectors to find and buy cool collectible limited-edition pieces. But I wonder how many people who buy rare or limited edition stuff actually play the recordings, especially if the music is already available online via Spotify? The old arguments about purchasing physical seem to be dying away. The “need for a back-up” argument will disappear when people become familiar/comfortable with cloud computing. The “inferior audio quality” argument will eventually fade when technology provides a better, flawless audio file type (which is inevitable). Spotify gives access to nearly everything now, and if you’re a paying user (as I am) you can even listen when you’re away from a wi-fi/cellular connection. So why buy hard assets like vinyl? Because you want to own it. You collect it. It’s finite. It’s physical in a world where fewer and fewer entertainment options involve physical things. If the above is true, than records stores will become like comic shops. Maybe they already are? “Collectors certainly make up a strong customer group for us and play a large roll in RSD, but vinyl has become so big, it draws all kinds of customers, both casual and hard-core collector, young and old,” Fratt replied. He said cloud computing, streaming and cars with internet will impact how people collect and access music, but early adopters (like me) remain a minority. “Over the last few years I’ve read that CD is dead, is dying and will be gone. Yet it is still 60 percent of album sales. So, a lot of people are still buying CDs to listen to and load onto their phone or PC. “Vinyl is a fad,” Fratt added. “Yet, even a recent iPhone commercial started with the image of a record spinning on a turntable only to have an iPhone set down next to it. It’s 10 million new (vinyl albums) being bought (per year) and another 30 million used trading hands. Somebody’s playing this stuff, not just collecting. “Collecting occurs in so many categories anymore. What you’re saying is not untrue. I think only a small minority sees it the way you do. Right now. We’ll see how that evolves. Ask me again next year.” I’m sure I will. ,
Young Special Screening Forever Admission just $2.50 for Visiting filmmaker in person! Medora First-Run Dirs. Andrew Cohn & Davy Rothbart. Thursday, January 9, 7 pm Filmmaker, “This American Life” contributor, and FOUND Magazine editor Davy Rothbart will join us for a special screening of MEDORA, a documentary he co-directed, followed by Q&A. The film is an underdog story from the heart of basketball country and a portrait of small-town life
Winner of our 7th annual Members Select poll. “Ni!”
over the edge
| THE READER |
kids 12 and under!
You Can’t Take it With You 1938 Dir. Frank Capra. January 9, 11, 12 & 16 Jimmy Stewart plays a rich boy in love with a poor girl.
Coming Soon The Great Beauty First-Run New York Film Critics Series: At Middleton First-Run (R) Gloria First-Run (R) The Past First-Run (PG-13)
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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livemusiccalendar
SEND CALENDAR INFORMATION — including addresses, dates, times, costs and phone numbers — to The Reader’s calendar editor. Mail to or drop off information at P.O. Box 7360 Omaha, NE 68107; email to listings@thereader.com; fax to (402) 341.6967. Deadline is 5 p.m. the Thursday prior to issue date.
THURSDAY 9
DURTY THURSDAY - E BROWN, 9 pm, Bar 415, Free. A MAN AMONGST MEN W/ ALL YOUNG GIRLS ARE MACHINE GUNS AND JOHN LARSEN, (Rock) 8 pm, Barley Street Tavern, Contact Barley Street for cover charge. NEW MOON SONGWRITERS NIGHT, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 7 pm, Crescent Moon Coffee, FREE. STEVE LOVETT SINGS THE BLUES, (Blues) 6 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, Contact Jazz for cover charge. DARRYL WHITE, (JAZZ) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. ACOUSTIC MUSIC THURSDAYS!, 8 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact Two Fine Irishmen for cover charge. LYMPHNODE MANIACS, (JAZZ) 9 pm, Venue 51, FREE. PURVEYORS OF THE CONSCIOUS SOUND W/ M34N STR33T, SCKY REI & INFNTLP, & KETHRO, (Hip-Hop/Rap) 9 pm, Waiting Room, $7. JOHN WALKER AND THE HOKUM BOYS, 6 pm, Zoo Bar, $5. ANGEL AND THE DEVILS W/ JAYSAY AND SAS, (Metal) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.
FRIDAY 10
CHARM SCHOOL DROPOUTS, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Arena Bar & Grill, FREE. ROBO DOJO W/ MICHAEL WUNDER BAND AND CAN’T WON’T, (Rock) 8 pm, Barley Street Tavern, Contact Barley Street for cover charge. WILD COLONIAL BHOYS, (Rock) 9 pm, Dubliner Pub, $3. PEACE LOVE ETC, (Rock) 8 pm, Firewater Grille, FREE. KARAOKE THEATRE, 9 pm, House Of Loom, Free. THE NIGHT SHAKERS TRIO, (Blues) 6 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, Contact Jazz for cover charge. CHRIS SAUB BAND-402, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. BLESSED ARE THE MERCILESS, SURVIVE US ALL & WE ARE THE ENEMY, (Rock) 9 pm, Shamrock’s Pub & Grill, Con- tact Shamrock’s for cover charge. THE LAST DRAFT W/ THE WHIPKEY THREE & THE TOPPINGS, (Rock) 9 pm, Slowdown, $5 Adv - Front Room. STOP SIGN RIOT WITH THE AUDACITOURS, HANDSOMER JAWS, & SHERRY DRIVE, (Rock) 7:30 pm, Sokol Hall & Audi- torium, $8. ECKOPHONIC, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge. ECKOPHONIC, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge.
ORION WALSH & THE RAMBLING HEARTS CD RELEASE PARTY, (Indie) 9 pm, Venue 51, Contact Venue 51 for cov- er charge. FRIDAY AFTERNOON CONCERT SERIES FEATURING MISTAKEN, (Blues) 6 pm, Venue 51, FREE. ARSON CITY W/ THE END IN RED, DIRTFEDD, & THROUGH THE STONE, (Rock) 8 pm, Waiting Room, $8. TIJUANA GIGOLOS, (Rock) 5 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE. HANNAH’S HO-DOWN, (Country) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE.
SATURDAY 11
DOC THROTTLE, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Arena Bar & Grill, FREE. EPONYMOUS W/ CORDIAL SPEW, ADDICTION 13 AND ADAM CORE, (Punk) 8 pm, Barley Street Tavern, Contact Barley Street for cover charge. DISCO BIRTHDAY PARTY W/ ZHIVAGO, DISCOBALL, $PENCE LOVE, (DJ/Electronic) 9 pm, Bourbon Theater, $5 / 18+. MCKENZIE RIVER BAND, (Country) 9 pm, Coyote Willy’s, $5. WILD COLONIAL BHOYS, (Rock) 9 pm, Dubliner Pub, $3. KARAOKE, 8 pm, Firewater Grille, Contact Firewater Grille for cover charges. LIFE OF RILEY, (Blues) 9 pm, Havana Garage, FREE. WEEKEND DANCE DESTINATION, (DJ/Electronic) 10 pm, House Of Loom, FREE. THE HIGHTOPS, (Cover Band) 6 pm, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, Contact Jazz for cover charge. ELVIS LIVES: THE ULTIMATE ELVIS TRIBUTE ARTIST EVENT, (Cover Band) 8 pm, Orpheum Theater, Tickets start at $35. PEACE LOVE ETC, (Cover Band) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. RYTHM911, 9 pm, Shamrock’s Pub & Grill, Contact Shamrock’s for cover charge. GORILLA MUSIC PRESENTS THE BOLD AND THE BRUTAL TOUR, (Metal) 4 pm, Sokol Hall & Auditorium, $15. BLU SIMON, (Rock) 9 pm, Two Fine Irishmen, Contact venue for cover charge. TRAVELING MERCIES, FORK IN THE ROAD AND MATT COX, (Rock) 9 pm, Venue 51, $5. TRAVELLING MERCIES, (Rock) 9 pm, Venue 51, $5. MY BROTHER W/ MARK THORNTON BAND, 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.
SUNDAY 12
LEOPOLD AND HIS FICTION W/ BONEHART FLANNIGAN, BURNING DOWN THE VILLAGER, (Rock) 9 pm, Bourbon Theater, $6: 21+ / $8: 18+.
We rent sound & lighting gear!
www.mwsound.com (402) 731-6268 or (800) 981-9521 14
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
| THE READER |
music listings
DIRTY RIVER RAMBLERS W/ RO HEMPEL BAND & DR. WEBB!, 9 pm, Duffy’s Tavern, $5 / 21+. SALSA SUNDAY W/ LATIN MADNESS, 7 pm, House Of Loom, $5. O’LEAVER’S OPEN MIC NIGHT, 9 pm, O’Leaver’s Pub, Free. Open Mic Night, 8 pm, Red9, FREE. THE FRONT BOTTOMS W/ YOU BLEW IT! & THE WILD, (Pop) 8 pm, Waiting Room, $10.
MONDAY 13
OPEN MIC NIGHT, 6 pm, 402 Arts Collective/ Aromas Cof- feehouse, FREE. OPEN MIC & SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) 9 pm, Barley Street Tavern, FREE. FIRST CUT INDUSTRY NIGHT W/ DJ DRDRIGGS, (DJ/Electronic) 9 pm, House Of Loom, FREE. BIG BAND MONDAY FEATURING MIKE GURCUILLO AND HIS LAS VEGAS LAB BAND, (Jazz) 6:30 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. GOOCH & HIS LASVEGAS BIG BAND, 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. OPEN MIC NIGHT! 8 pm, Red9, FREE. ZETA JUNE AND FUNK TREK, (Blues) 9 pm, Venue 51, $7. MIDWEST ELITE CONCERTS PRESENTS: NEW MUSIC MONDAY - STEREO ROCKET W/ ACHILLES LAST BAND & SPLITLINE, (Rock) 8 pm, Waiting Room, FREE. PIANO HOUR W/ EMILY BASS, 5 pm, Zoo Bar, contact the Zoo Bar for cover charge. ZOO BAR HOUSE BAND, 7 pm, Zoo Bar, $3.
TUESDAY 14
VIC NASTY, 8 pm, Bar 415, Contact the venue for cover charge. OPEN MIC NIGHT, 9:30 pm, Dubliner Pub, FREE. SCOTT EVANS & FRIENDS, 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Antho- ny’s Steakhouse, FREE. OPEN MIC NIGHT, 8 pm, Venue 51, FREE. TECHNICIANS OF DISTORTION TOUR 2014: PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS W/ AUTHOR & PUNISHER & HYMNS, (Metal) 8 pm, Waiting Room, $20. JAZZOCRACY, (Jazz) 6 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE. DJ RELIC SOUL PARTY, 8 pm, Zoo Bar, FREE.
WEDNESDAY 15
DICEY RILEYS, 7 pm, Brazen Head Irish Pub, FREE. RAY MICHAEL, (Country) 8 pm, Firewater Grille, FREE. THE PERSUADERS, (Cover Band) 8 pm, OzoNE Lounge at Anthony’s Steakhouse, FREE. SPENCE & THE GRACIOUS MELODIES, 9 pm, Shamrock’s Pub & Grill, Contact Shamrock’s for cover charge. AN EVENING - A TRIBUTE TO JOHN DENVER, (Cover Band) 9 pm, Slowdown, $5 Adv - Front Room. LE FIGS DUO, 9 pm, Venue 51, FREE. THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT W/ NEKROMANTICS & DEKE DICKERSON, (Rock) 8 pm, Waiting Room, $25. HANDSOMER JAWS, THE GEMS AND JEAZLEPEATS, (Rock) 9 pm, Zoo Bar, $5.
BY B.J. HUCHTEMANN
Shadowboxing
T
hursday, Jan. 9, 6-9 p.m., the Blues Society of Omaha (BSO) and The 21st Saloon host the official send-off party celebrating Josh Hoyer & The Shadowboxers’ trip to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge (IBC). After winning the 2013 Nebraska Blues Challenge last year, Hoyer and his band are representing the Blues Society of Omaha in the 30th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis Jan. 21-25. The Lincoln-based soul-blues band will join hundreds of international blues musicians in this prestigious event. The IBC is attended by blues record labels, journalists, promoters and booking agents and is a great opportunity for regional artists to start building national awareness. It is worth noting that the Blues Society of Omaha’s first and second year Nebraska Blues Challenge winners, Shawn “Lil’ Slim” Holt and Levi William, have since joined forces under the name Shawn Holt & The Teardrops. Holt’s band received a Blues Music Award nomination for Best New Artist Debut in the recently announced nominations. For more information see joshhoyerandtheshadowboxers.com, blues.org/ibc and facebook.com/BluesSocietyOfOmaha. (Full disclosure: I am an advisor to the BSO and to the Nebraska Blues Challenge event.)
hoodoo
FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB Lincoln’s Zoo Bar has a longstanding Friday Afternoon Club (FAC). This week the Zoo features Tijuana Gigolos 5-7 p.m. Omaha’s Venue 51, 1951 St. Mary’s, has launched a Friday Afternoon Club with music 6-8 p.m. This Friday, Jan. 10, check out Mistaken. See facebook. com/mistakenbandomaha. Friday, Jan. 17, OEAA Best Blues Nominee Steve Byam’s 40SINNERS plugs in. Friday, Jan. 24, catch Stephen Monroe. Jan. 31, it’s Little Joe solo acoustic. HOT NOTES Venue 51 has a great roots-Americana show Saturday, Jan. 11, 9 p.m. with two OEAA Best Americana/Country Nominees Matt Cox and Travelling Mercies being joined by Fork in the Road. Iconic psychobilly/rockabilly act Thursday, Jan 16, 9 p.m. catch Mitch Gettman, Virginia Kathryn Tanous-Gallner and Saltwater Sanctuary showcasing roots, blues and rock at Barley Street Tavern. Josh Hoyer & the Shadowboxers have a CD/LP release party Friday, Jan. 17, at the Bourbon Theatre, after 9 p.m. Also performing are Funk Trek, A Ferocious Jungle Cat and DJ Relic, cover is only $5. Upcoming 6 p.m. blues shows at The 21st Saloon include the Pacific Northwest’s Randy Oxford Band with BluesEd group Us & Them opening Thursday, Jan. 16, and the driving, gritty sound of Moreland & Arbuckle Thursday, Jan. 23. ,
HOODOO is a weekly column focusing on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a Reader senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who has covered the local music scene for nearly 20 years. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com.
Great bourbon is hard to nd, unless youure at Jakees. Stop by for a dram or bottle of our new, hand-selected Single Barrel Knob Creek.
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| THE READER |
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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newsoftheweird
T H E WO R L D G O N E F R E A K Y B Y C H U C K S H E P H E R D W I T H I L LU S T R AT I O N S B Y T O M B R I S C O E
Too much money
D
uring the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney caught criticism for his proposed California home with parking on an upper floor, requiring a car elevator. Much more elaborate elevator access will be available in the new Porsche Design Tower near Miami (opening in 2016 and already 80 percent sold out, according to a December report by Slate. com). The 132 oceanside units (in square footage from 4,300 to 17,000 and in price from $5.3 million to $32.5 million) include glass-walled, elevator-accessed spaces for two or four cars (for people who would rather admire their Bugattis and Maseratis than the Atlantic Ocean).
Can’t Possibly Be True Equality Under Law: (1) In December, Fort Worth, Texas, judge Jean Boyd sentenced teenager Ethan Couch to probation with no jail time for drunkenly killing four people in a car crash -- apparently accepting Couch’s “defense” that his affluent, permissive childhood had taught him irresponsibility. (WFAATV turned up a 2012 case in which Judge Boyd sentenced a 14-year-old black kid to prison for punching another boy who then fell, bumped his head and died.) (2) New York City prostitute murderer Rasheen Everett got a 29-year sentence in December, despite his lawyer’s “defense” that the victim was merely a transgendered prostitute. (“Shouldn’t (29-year sentences) be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain (higher) classes of individuals?”) -- Tension over digital security is such that an alarming disclosure made in 2004 (and largely ignored) can resurface on a website in 2013 and appear
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JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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weird news
even more astonishing. At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s (and largely because of Pentagon-White House contentiousness), “safeguards” were installed to prevent rogue generals from launching nuclear war on their own. What today would be a “PIN” number was assigned to each missile, but Strategic Air Command generals mocked the PINs by setting each one to “00000000” -- a code that today would be ridiculed as naive. (Furthermore, “00000000” was then written out on each missile’s instructions, according to the former launch control officer who disclosed it in 2004.) -- Many medical professionals are certain that Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, 70, is a quack, treating cancer patients with expensive, FDA-unapproved substances, giving false hope to the terminally ill and in some cases diverting them from better-regarded treatments. However, according to a December USA Today investigation, Dr. Burzynski enjoys enthusiastic support from a small but dedicated group of patients, and neither regulators in Texas (where he is licensed) nor two juries (who turned back indictments against him) have been able to stop him. FDA regulators have been inconsistent toward him but appear to be gaining aggressiveness following recent inspections of his facilities. (Dr. Burzynski manufactures his own proprietary drugs, charging around $10,000 a month to patients who can pay.)
Inexplicable One Rule Fits All: Jim Howe, father of two children at South Cumberland Elementary School in Crossville, Tenn., was handcuffed and briefly detained by a sheriff ’s deputy in November after mistakenly believing that he could walk his kids home when class let out at 2 p.m. Actually, the school allows 2 p.m. departure only for kids being picked up in cars; pupils who leave on foot must wait until 2:35. (Howe assumed that the waiting period was only to protect young pedestrians
COPYRIGHT 2014 CHUCK SHEPHERD. Visit Chuck Shepherd daily at NewsoftheWeird. blogspot.com or NewsoftheWeird.com. Send Weird News to WeirdNewsTips@yahoo.com or P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, FL 33679. Illustrations by Tom Briscoe (smallworldcomics.com).
from pick-up traffic.) Deputy Avery Aytes said a rule is a rule and that if Howe failed to cooperate, he would be jailed. -- David Friehling, who was identified as Bernard Madoff ’s accountant soon after Madoff ’s 2008 confession to running his notorious Ponzi scheme, provided evidence in November that a certain Madoff associate knew all along that Madoff was running bogus numbers on his books -- testifying that he dutifully certified all such falsified documents that the associate showed him. Friehling, who pleaded guilty in 2009 for his personal role in the scam, also revealed that somehow he had actually blown $4.3 million of his own money in the swindle (on behalf of his children and other family members). -- Overcompensation: Mr. Kelcey Nicholas, 28, was arrested, along with Lataura Jarrett, 21, in Mount Nebo, W.Va., in September and charged with having incestuous relations. Thus, West Virginia -- a popular target for jokes about cultural tolerance for incest and inbreeding -- appears to be boldly reversing course, since Jarrett is merely Nicholas’ step-daughter.
but he also changed the Vehicle Identification Number to obtain a false title.) Rotert said his legal claim, especially with the “current” VIN, is superior to the the insurance company’s claim. Perspective While many educators lament the mediocrity of American universities in encouraging study of science and engineering, U.S. colleges are surely among world leaders in one area: sensitivity to students questioning their gender. In the current school year, Bellevue (Wash.) College and Mills College (Oakland, Calif.) have offered students unprecedented choices of self-identification. “Male/female” is no longer useful at Bellevue, which offers “feminine, masculine, androgynous, gender neutral, transgender and other.” At Mills, students identify themselves as “agender, bigender, third-gender or gender-fluid,” and select the pronoun they wish to be referred to with (he or she or ze or sie or ve, or the agrammatical “they”).
Unclear on the Concept Police finally arrested William Footman, 55, in October as the person who somehow managed to swipe inside-frontdoor mats from at least 37 New York City banks between March and May 2013. No money was ever taken, and some banks were slow to realize the thefts -- unobservant that they had even had front-door mats in the first place. “I sell them to bodegas,” Footman said. “Their floors get wet.” -- Rodney Rotert of Tulsa, Okla., filed a lawsuit recently against Philadelphia Insurance Companies demanding the return of “his” classic 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, supposedly worth about $100,000. His case is complicated by the fact that he also recently pleaded no contest to possessing stolen property, i.e., that very same car, stolen from an Arkansas dealer in 2007. (Rotert claims he bought the car legitimately,
News That Sounds Like a Joke Iowa lawyer Robert Allan Wright Jr. was suspended for a year by the Attorney Disciplinary Board in December for mishandling client funds. One client had received a “Nigerian inheritance” letter in 2011, and Wright apparently jumped at the opportunity to receive “$18 million,” seemingly unaware of what almost everyone else in the developed world knows about unsolicited Nigerian business deals. By December 2013, Wright had looted accounts of other clients in order to pay the “fees” necessary to free up the $18 million. He was spared a more onerous punishment only because the board concluded that Wright “honestly ... continues to believe” that the inheritance is real -- that “one day a trunk full of ... one hundred dollar bills is going to appear upon his office doorstep.” ,
weird news
| THE READER |
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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n Hey you! You fancy, huh? Thought so. Then I guess I’ll be seeing you Jan. 29 at Film Streams Ruth Sokolof Theater for a one-time screening of The Conformist. You’d think that with a title like that, it’s about the anti-hipster movement I’ve started, but you’d be wrong. It’s a legendary film from Bernardo Bertolucci that was crazy influential on folks like Coppola and Scorsese. I should specify, Francis Ford and Martin, lest you think it influenced Billy Bob Coppola and Harpo Scorsese. The film will be followed by a discussion with James Darrah, director of Opera Omaha’s upcoming Agrippina, and Mauro Fiore, an Omaha-based cinematographer who straight-up has an Oscar, yo. For ticket information, use the internets and go to filmstreams.org.
D
Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly half-hour movie podcast (movieha.libsyn.com/rss), catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 (cd1059.com) on Fridays around 7:30 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 (kvno.org) at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and follow him on Twitter (twitter.com/thereaderfilm).
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JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
REPORTCARD
n Voactiv.com, a site I am admittedly completely unfamiliar with, has stunning news: paying attention to half of the humans in the world pays off! Using the Bechdel Test—a rudimentary feminist test that specifies two named female characters must talk to each other about something other than a man—the site found that of the top 50 movies in 2013, the 24 that passed the test racked up $4.22 billion at the box office, whereas the 21 that failed (five were excluded for random reasons) took in $2.66 billion. Even with several of the huge films left out (like Gravity, which doesn’t pass by technicality alone), it’s pretty obvious that giving women a reason to see your movie means more money for your movie. n Briefly: You know all that wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth about how home video is killing theater business? Malarky, horse patootie and other kind words for bull squat! 2013 was the highest grossing domestic box office in history. I hate it when facts ruin a perfectly good narrative… —Ryan Syrek
irector John Lee Hancock isn’t Joseph Goebbels or Leni Riefenstahl by any stretch, but Saving Mr. Banks is as close to corporate propaganda as can be legally released in theaters. A Walt Disney Studios movie about Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) making a Walt Disney Studios movie, the take home message is that a woman who doggedly protects a deeply personal work of art is a cranky bitch who should just give Mickey Mouse what he wants. Emma Thompson, who single-handedly moves this pic from “oh, hell no” to nearly tolerable, plays P.L. Travers, the creator of Mary Poppins. To believe screenwriters Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith is to believe Travers was an insufferable terror prone to tantrums and was foolishly insistent on maintaining control of her intellectual property instead of letting a stranger do whatever he wanted to it. Through flashbacks, we see that her father (Colin Farrell) was a troubled alcoholic and that his suffering and the suffering he inflicted was the catalyst for the creation of Mary Poppins. But who cares about Travers’ personal pain? Walt Disney promised his daughter he’d make her a Mary Poppins movie, dammit! For 20 years he relentlessly stalks Travers. Until one day, financially desperate and at her lowest point, Travers sadly reconsiders. She deThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire A The best sci-fi sequel since Empire Strikes Back. Nebraska BAnother nice, quiet, muted film from the master. READER RECOMMENDS
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues ADocumentary on the use of tridents and Sex Panthers. Frozen AEither a throwback to the modern-classic Disney period or the start of a new one.
| THE READER |
film
mands final approval, in a move depicted here as completely unreasonable. So she must listen to the Sherman Brothers (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman) write songs, despite her desire that the film not be a musical, must read storyboards for dancing cartoon penguins, when she asked for no animation, and gets mocked by every man she meets. Yet somehow Hancock and company play Travers’ weeping at the film’s premiere as a triumph. A biopic is not a fact-checked biography, but the truth should matter. The real Travers had an adopted son; in the film, she denies having children. The real Travers had various significant romantic relationships with both men and women; can’t have that in a Disneyfied Disney story about Disney’s brave conquest to save the children by delivering Mary Poppins from her evil creator! The real Travers wept at the premiere out of depression and fury, a fact supported by her refusal to ever again work with Disney. Hanks is serviceable as Disney, stripped of his wellknown anti-Semitism and shown to be a gentle guardian of good. Thompson, on the other hand, finds a way with only gestures and expressions to demonstrate humanity deprived her by the script. Ultimately, Saving Mr. Banks is a “piss off ” to creative types. It turns ON DVD
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints A An outlaw fairy tale that’s equal parts Shakespeare and Terrence Malick. Kick-Ass 2 C Asses are kicked but you won’t care much. The Lone Ranger F Prompts lots of discussion: like is it more racist or more stupid?
an artist into a brutal captor selfishly keeping a character caged. In some ways, this is almost a horror film. Did Travers suffer for the next 32 years, watching as a creation she loved like family faded into the shadow of a movie she hated? Mary Poppins as a film is a nearly flawless classic; but Saving Mr. Banks is emotional manipulation intended to excuse the blackmail-based commodification of one woman’s dream. , GRADE = D
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| THE READER |
JAN. 9 - 15, 2014
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What is catastrophic coverage and am I eligible?
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atastrophic health insurance coverage is often referred to as a “bare-bones” policy. Although you pay the majority of your typical health care costs out of pocket, this policy is there to protect you in case you encounter a “catastrophic” illness. What counts as catastrophic? Think along the lines of cancer, a coma or anything else that is going to cost a great deal of money to treat for the duration of the illness. This type of coverage was never designed to help pay for routine doctor visits, preventative care or prescriptions for common ailments, but with the new regulations set forth by the Affordable Care Act, catastrophic policies must include the essential health benefits that all policies within the Marketplace feature. As a result, catastrophic coverage has quickly evolved from a bare-bones policy to a policy option which has bones that are not quite so bare. The Cheapest Option – At First Since catastrophic plans are not meant to be comprehensive health insurance options, the cost of these policies are generally the lowest among the options. The four-tiered system of the Marketplace (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze) also includes a fifth –and lowest- level with the catastrophic coverage. HealthCare. gov states that catastrophic coverage “basically protects you from worst-case scenarios.” As a result, the monthly or annual premium is typically lower than all other types of coverage. So while you will not pay as high a premium if you had chosen another type of coverage, the fact remains that you will pay for many things out-of-pocket. For example, you’ll get three primary care visits per year under this type of policy. If you need to visit your primary care physician a fourth time (or more), you’ll be digging into your own wallet to cover the cost of the visit. It’s important to consider the overall cost of a health care policy before deciding which one is best for your specific situation. Don’t just look at the policy premiums. Are You Eligible? Catastrophic coverage is available to people who are under the age of 30. This coverage is also available to those people who have received a hardship exemption. Anyone else looking to cut expenses and avoid paying a penalty fee should look toward bronze coverage.
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ith all the terms being thrown around concerning Obamacare, it can be confusing to figure out just what exactly is being said. For instance, what does open enrollment actually mean? Healthcare.gov explains it’s a period of time where those who are eligible to sign up for a health care plan may do so on the Health Insurance Marketplace. During open enrollment, you have the ability to compare and choose health care plans based on a variety of criteria. March 31 – A Date to Remember The last day for open enrollment is March 31st, 2014. This means that if you want to choose and purchase a health insurance plan through the Marketplace, you have to do so by this date. Additionally, if you do not have health insurance by this date, you will face a monetary penalty. According to ABC.com, one of the biggest benefits to enrolling through the Marketplace is that you have “access to government subsidies that reduce your premium costs for non-marketplace plans.” You will still be able to purchase insurance elsewhere after March 31st but in order to buy a policy through the Marketplace after this date you will need to qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
Deductible – This is the amount you pay each year before the insurance company pays anything toward your medical expenses. Premium – This is the monthly amount you pay to your insurance company for your plan. The premium must be paid whether you use any insurance benefits or not during that month. Copayment – This is the set cost you pay within your plan for certain medical services and medications. Your health insurer pays the balance. Coinsurance – This refers to the portion of costs you have to pay for a covered service once you’ve paid your entire deductible. Your health insurer then pays the rest. The amount of each of these varies depending on which health insurance plan you choose.
Understanding Open Enrollment
What constitutes a Special Enrollment Period? This time period occurs outside of the normal open enrollment period. Healthcare.gov explains Special Enrollment Periods are granted for a period of 30-days for life-changing events such as a marriage, birth of a baby or loss of other health insurance coverage. SCPR.org recommends that you know and understand the following four key terms before signing up for any plan:
Is anyone exempt from signing up for health insurance? A CNN.com article says the exempt include: l Americans who don’t make enough to file a tax return l Those who are in the country illegally l People whose religious beliefs conflict with the acceptance of healthcare benefits There are four ways to sign up for a health insurance plan: l Online l Using a paper application l Over the phone l With the assistance of a navigator or counselor in person The best place to find help if you need it, is to visit https://localhelp. healthcare.gov/. Once you’re there, you will be prompted to enter your zip code. After you do, a list will come up of all the navigators available in your area. The next sign-up deadline is Jan. 15 for health insurance starting Feb. 1.